No. 6 AU Women Back In NCAAs For Fifth Straight Season

For the fifth season in a row and ninth time overall, Ashland University's women's basketball team will play in the NCAA Division II postseason.

For the first time since 2015, however, the Eagle women will be playing in a regional away from Kates Gymnasium.

As announced on both Twitter and the selection show on NCAA.com on Sunday (March 10) night, No. 6-ranked Ashland (29-2) will face a familiar foe in the D-II Midwest Region quarterfinal on Friday (March 15) in Springfield, Mo. – Northern Michigan (22-9), whom the Eagles defeated 65-58 on Sunday for the 2019 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament title.

Prior to Sunday night, Ashland was the No. 4-ranked team in the Midwest Region rankings released on Feb. 20 and 27, and March 6.

Ashland won the NCAA Division II national championship in both 2013 and 2017, and was the national runner-up in both 2012 and 2018. The Eagles have made eight previous D-II postseason appearances (2004, 2006, 2012-13, 2015-18), and have an all-time postseason record of 26-6. That .813 winning percentage is the best in D-II history among programs with at least 25 games played.

A 64-team tournament (the top eight teams from each of eight regions), the NCAA Division II tournament will begin on Friday (March 15), and the Elite Eight, Final Four and national championship game will be March 26, 27 and 29, respectively, at Alumni Hall on the campus of Ohio Dominican University in Columbus, Ohio.

In the Midwest Region, automatic qualifiers come from the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, Great Lakes Valley Conference and Great Midwest Athletic Conference. The other five teams are chosen as at-large entries. There are 41 teams in the Midwest – 12 in the GLIAC, 14 each in the GLVC and GMAC, and one independent (Oakland City).